Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Feng Residence.

The Formation was activated.

Feng Min walked into the courtyard with a heavy heart.

Soon, two figures emerged from a concealed spot in the courtyard.

"Junior Sister, why are you alone?" an elderly cultivator said gravely, "Where is the man!" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"He didn’t come in. He seems to be alert!" Feng Min shook her head and whispered, her hand gripping her robe tightly.

"I said we didn’t need this fuss, why bother with such trouble? This man goes out every four or five days; we’d be better off directly ambushing him outside—a clean and simple job. I’m at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment, Fellow Daoist Zhang, you are at the sixth layer, and Fellow Daoist Feng is at the fourth layer. With such strength, unless we encounter a Golden Core, even someone at the Completion of Foundation Establishment would face certain death," complained another shorter and thinner middle-aged cultivator, evidently impatient.

"This person is extremely strong; we must not underestimate him. If we could have the aid of a Formation, we would surely be safe. But, as things stand, I’m afraid we can only proceed as planned," the elderly cultivator sighed and said:

"Let’s hope the other side hasn’t noticed anything. If he refuses to come out, it will be troublesome."

This man was named Zhang Qianshan, one of the five Tianxing Sect survivors from that incident. However, he hadn’t come to Red Pillar City with the others but had gone instead to seek refuge with a friend at the nearby Bailian Sect—an affair known to very few. He had only mentioned it to Xiao Changyi and the couple Feng Min.

Feng Min, of course, was also aware of this.

Afterward, when Feng Min encountered an unforeseen event and was deceived by Chen Li into leaving Red Pillar City, she initially did not consider seeking her only remaining senior brother. Instead, she hid in a secluded forest, conducting herself with extreme caution, rarely venturing out, and harboring no suspicions of Chen Li.

However, that place was not conducive to cultivation.

Thinking that two years had passed and the risk should be negligible, she decided to return to Red Pillar City.

That led to the meeting with Chen Li.

Unfortunately, Chen Li was unaware that she was proficient in Formations; in fact, the Formation in Lin Qing’s mansion was personally laid out by her. She was more than familiar with the Green Yuan Avoiding Disaster Array.

When Chen Li first saw her loitering at the door, he grew suspicious—and his suspicions were not misplaced.

From the outside, it looked like a flower through the fog—not clearly discerned.

After hesitating repeatedly and revisiting the premise, she finally confirmed it.

Upon discovering this, Feng Min felt stricken as if by lightning, hardly able to believe it. The thought that she had been deceived by the man responsible for her husband’s death, for whom she had even harbored a sense of gratitude and faint affection, made her feel nauseated.

Subsequently, she left Red Pillar City to seek Zhang Qianshan.

This was the reason for her half-year disappearance.

However, the two of them, being at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, were clearly incapable of exacting their revenge.

Even her husband, Xiao Changyi, with his eighth layer of Foundation Establishment prowess, had died without a sound, causing not even the slightest ripple—let alone them.

Luckily, Zhang Qianshan still had some connections and managed, through the good offices of a friend at Bailian Sect, to hire a ninth layer Foundation Establishment expert to lend a fist, albeit, at the expense of most of their savings. But still feeling insecure, they devised a plan.

They would use Feng Min’s charm to lure him into their residence, a trap within a pot.

Once the Formation was activated.

And with the three of them attacking together.

No matter how powerful the opponent was, it would all be over.

Unfortunately, just as they were about to succeed, he avoided their plot.

...

Chen Li, using his Phantom Skill, had been monitoring for three days but had seen no one leave.

It wasn’t until the early morning of the fourth day that there was finally some activity.

Disguised Feng Min and two other unfamiliar cultivators quietly left their residence and headed towards the city gates, keeping watch over the people coming and going.

"Are they waiting for me to make a move?" Chen Li thought with a cold smile in his heart.

This was exactly what he wanted.

He had grown impatient waiting.

One of the tracking phantoms quickly dispelled its invisibility, ready to leave the city.

Meanwhile, Chen Li’s true body consumed several Return Yuan Elixirs and began to move; he left his mansion and followed closely behind.

The phantom walked out of the city gate unmasked, heading into the wilderness.

Zhang Qianshan’s face lit up with joy, and he signaled the two with his eyes, promptly following.

Chen Li’s phantom strode briskly, gradually veering off course farther and farther.

After more than an hour of walking.

He finally stopped; at this point, no one else was in sight.

"This looks like a good place!" Chen Li’s phantom turned and looked behind: "No need to hide anymore. Come on out, everyone!"

"Quite the guts, knowing you’re discovered yet daring to head towards a deserted place."

With the sound of his voice, three figures flashed into view from a distance.

"Since you all went through so much trouble to take my life, how could I not keep you company? Five against three, you don’t find that unfair, do you?" Chen Li said with a cold laugh.

When it came to ambushes, he was the best.

"Hahaha, bluffing..." the short and thin cultivator laughed heartily, but his heart was a bit uneasy, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings: "Five people? Where did you get five people?"

His words had barely finished.

Four identical Chen Lis, each with a Water Element Shield activated, approached from all directions, promptly enclosing the three in a tight circle.

The atmosphere turned still for a moment.

The air even seemed to grow stagnant.

Zhang Qianshan, looking at the five identical Chen Lis, couldn’t help but swallow hard, his face filled with panic: "This... this is impossible, how can there be such a secret technique?"

Feng Min’s face was the only one pale and silent.

"It’s all just tricks to fool people," the short and thin cultivator shouted, with cold sweat on his forehead. He knew about the Phantom Skill, but the scene before him exceeded both its scope and his understanding; he quickly slapped a Shield Talisman on himself:

"Quick, take action!"

As he spoke, he raised a Flying Sword, which instantly turned into a streak of light, thrusting straight at one of the phantoms.

The phantom didn’t even bother to dodge and stood in place to cast a spell.

"Boom!"

The Water Element Shield was struck by the Flying Sword in an instant.

The Water Element Shield flickered violently a few times but managed to hold on.

A max-level Water Element Shield, its defense could be compared to that of a Second Order level eight spell, and even for a ninth-layer Foundation Establishment, it would be difficult to breach with one blow.

"Clang!"

In the moment of the opponent’s attack, the real Chen Li silently chanted a spell and, at the same time, suddenly drew the Evil-Slaying Sword. His figure shot forward like lightning, like a shadow, charging directly at the short and thin cultivator, who posited the greatest threat among them.

A distance of dozens of meters was almost instant for him.

At that moment, the short and thin cultivator had just launched an attack, and his Flying Sword had not yet returned for defense.

Chen Li arrived in a blink, accompanied by a dazzling flash of light, as if a sun had appeared on the ground.

Caught off guard, the short and thin cultivator was dazzled by the brightness, his eyes stinging and tears streaming. In a rush, he threw something from his chest, a net-shaped Magic Artifact that swelled in the wind, spreading out and aiming to cover Chen Li.

Chen Li was unafraid, holding the sword while concentrating Gang Qi, and he struck fiercely. This full-force blade was actually blocked by the shining net, unable to make any progress.

His heart chilled for a moment.

Such strength was far from normal for later stages of Foundation Establishment.

Fortunately, he was not alone.

The actions of the real body served only to distract.

At this point, the spells cast by the several phantoms were already in place.

The next second,

With a "boom," a deafening sound.

A terrifying "Sky-Shaking Skill" directly blew a huge hole in the net-shaped Magic Artifact.

One wave had yet to subside.

Another "Sky-Shaking Skill" followed almost simultaneously, exploding right next to the short and thin cultivator. In an instant, his Shield Skill crumbled like paper, and the reverberation swept across his body, causing a mist of blood to burst from him.

He opened his mouth in bewilderment, but before he could react,

Another "Sky-Shaking Skill" directly blew him into pieces of flesh, completely obliterating him.

Only now,

Did Zhang Qianshan finally make out the real Chen Li, raising a bead Magic Artifact with a look of despair and striking it toward Chen Li.

But such an attack was obviously no threat to him.

He simply grabbed the bead,

And tossed it back the way it came, the bead exploding into a sonic boom, returning even faster than before and hitting Zhang Qianshan’s shielded protection. Immediately after, another phantom landed a Sky-Shaking Skill.

His protection, along with his bones and flesh, were all shattered at once, leaving his body a pulpy mess.

From the start of the fight until now, in just a couple of seconds, two-thirds were gone, and victory was essentially secured.

Chen Li dispelled all his phantoms, turned around to look at Feng Min, who was pale not far away, and said indifferently, "Now it’s just you left."